Maintenance to divorced muslim wife

Dear Tushar u just tell me first whether the DV Act is applicable to DIVORCED WOMEN.....may it be a hindu or muslim?

Divorce is a final ending of a matrimonial relationship....all settlements done.

otherwise also the Muslim women are entitle to maintenance under Muslim Women (Protecton of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986

Dear Mr.Kiran

DV act is a general law which protects women.

and apart from that I come to the conclusion that untill she gets marriage or she completes the period of Iddat she can claim maintenance U/s125 crpc

Dear Mr.Kiran,

I would like to draw your attention towards the defination of  aggrieved person given in D.V Act

(a)    "aggrieved person" means any woman who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the respondent and who alleges to have been subjected to any act of domestic violence by the respondent;

now as per the provisions of sec.12 of D.V act any aggrieved person can file application to magistrate seeking one or more relief under the act and act does not put any bar to file application by the divorced women.I would like to know your view pertaining to the effect of Muslim women protection of rights on divorce act 1986 on the D.V.Act

Well Tushar u ve raised a debate.

but Mr. Gokul, will pls explain how did u come to conclusion about S.125 Cr.P.C applicability to Muslim Women, ve u gone through the act i ve mentioned and the relevant judgments thereafter....if possible let us know few judgments to support ur conclusion.

Tushar read the definition of aggrieved person carefully....it talks of present not of past.

Dear Mr.Kiran,

Once again I request to go through the defination of aggrieved person wherin relationship with respondent is mentioned as "woman who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship".Thus defination itself is very clear and it talks of relationship of present as well as past.

Tushar m still not agreeing with ur opinion.

if ur opinion is to be accepted then there will be no end to matrimonial dispute, u r putting woman (married or unmarried) in the supreme most position.

if this has to be a case, a divorced woman will stand up after 10 yrs of divorce and will file a case under DV Act.

if ve read the definition carefully....better u refloat this query in expert section as no other person is coming up to put in his views.

Chapter - 1 - Prelimnary of the D.V. Act states - An Act to provide for more effective protection of the rights of women guaranteed under the Constitution who are victims of violence of any kind occurring within the family and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. If the words ' occurring within the family ' are noted, then a divorced wife would not come under the definition of family. I too feel that a divorced women cannot file for maintenance under the D.V. Act and moreover a divorced muslim women has been provided specific relief by the way of the Muslim Women (Protecton of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986.

The intentions of Tushar are quite clear - whether money can be asked from a husband for allegations of DV committed while in marriage.

In other words, EXTORTION from the husband, in the garb of maintenance. At this rate, which male will have the guts to marry in the future?

good observation Dharmesh Ji

i would like to know if a husband(muslim) is unemployed then in that case how he will pay the maintenance to divorced wife?
 

Dear Tushar

Chapter 65 verses 1-5 of quran deals with talak

it says ' if you are divorcing your wife divorce the on the perid of idda and calculate the idda period. Do not send thm off your houses........................... and if almighty makes a reconciliation among you join with her in a kind manner if not part with her in kind manner and call two witnesses from you (Ch 65 Versus 1 to 5)

Chapter 2 versus 241

....and divorced wife uis entitled for MATA.( Fair provision)

Thus the process of talak completes only on payment of Mata ( Benfits enlisted u/s 3 of protection of muslim woman on divorce Act).

It is clear that the muslim (Former) husband is discharged from his duties towards his ( Divorced) wife on payment of mata not by prononciation of talak . Hence muslim divorced wife is entitled for protection under DV act or any other law till the full serttlement of Mata ( fair provision and maintenence)

I also do agree with the definition of Dharmesh ji supported by Kiran.

I have found law on the subject which I want to share with you all.

On the issue of a divorced Muslim woman’s right under PWDVA we relied upon Priya vs Shibhu, [2008 (3) KLJ 304] wherein the Kerala High court had upheld the divorced woman’s rights under the Domestic Violence Act. This judgement contains detailed discussion on definition of “aggrieved woman”, “respondent”, “shared household”, “domestic relationship” etc. This judgement has dealt in detail the grammatical implications of the term, “has been” to emphasize that the law will apply to all divorced women. The argument for the husband was that the term, “has been” should be understood with regards to it being in the present perfect tense, but the Kerala High Court had rejected this contention and upheld the claim of the divorced Muslim wife.

We also relied upon Karimkhan vs Nahid Akhtar 2011 Cri.LJ 4793, a judgement of the Bombay High Court which specifically dealt with the retrospective effect of the Domestic Violence Act. While deciding this case, the court considered the earlier two contradictory rulings of the Bombay High Court which had dealt with the issue of rights of divorced women under PWDVA and commented that an interpretation which furthers the purpose of the Act must be preferred to the one which obstructs the object and paralyses the purpose of the Act.

We also argued that PWDVA is secular and there is nothing in the Act which prevents a Muslim woman from claiming reliefs under it. Further the beneficial legislation has to be construed in a liberal way which would further the purpose of the Act rather than defeat its purpose. The following cases were also helpful in advancing our arguments on behalf of the divorced Muslim woman:

Razzak Khan vs Shahnaz Khan, 2008 (4) MPHT 413 M.P. HC
Syed Mohd Nadeem vs State Delhi HC, 15th June 2011
Rajkumar Pandey vs Sarita Pandey, 2008 (6) Bom CR 831
Saraswathy vs Babu (Madras HC 13th December 2011)

Sir,

A divorced muslim wife is entitled to maintenence under the provisions of MUSLIM WOMEN(PROTECTION OF RIGHTS ON DIVORCE) ACT,1986. and also under the provisions of section 125 Cr.P.C. till she remarries.

The Domestic violence Act,2005 is meant only for the violences within the family. Once she gets divorced she moves outo the family of the defaulters and she will not fall within the concept of family member. Hence, she cannot claim maintenance under domestic violence Act.